AFLW: Players vote Phillips MVP

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 25: Erin Phillips of the Crows takes a spectacular mark over Tayla Harris of the Lions during the 2017 AFLW Grand Final match between the Brisbane Lions and the Adelaide Crows at Metricon Stadium on March 25, 2017 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media)

The 31-year-old accepted the MVP trophy at a ceremony in Melbourne on Monday, before she returns to her basketball duties with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings in the coming weeks.

The coveted award is further recognition of a remarkable season from Phillips, who hadn’t played football competitively for more than 15 years prior to February.

Daughter of Port Adelaide champion Greg Phillips, the Olympic silver medallist and two-time WNBA Champion said she felt privileged to have been part of the inaugural AFL Women’s Competition.

“I’m incredibly humbled to have won this award. To be recognised by your peers is something all athletes hold in high esteem and this is something I will hold very close to my heart for a long time,” she said.

“I’m so proud of what we, as AFLW players, have been able to achieve over the past eight weeks and look forward to what the future holds for all of us as players and aspiring female footballers right across Australia.”

Phillips also finished second in the Best Captain Award, which was won by Melbourne skipper Daisy Pearce. Pearce polled 63 votes ahead of Phillips (30) and Brisbane’s Emma Zielke (27 votes).

MVP Voting ProcessMVP voting is a two-stage process, beginning with each player voting for the three teammates they consider to have been the most valuable this season. Each club’s votes are then tallied to form a nomination list comprising 54 players across the 18 teams.

In the second round of voting, all players vote for their MVP on a 3, 2, 1 basis from the nominees of the 17 other clubs. The votes are tallied and the player with the highest score wins the honour of MVP. Players cannot vote for their own teammates in stage two of the process.

A similar process is followed for Most Courageous, but every captain is automatically nominated for the Best Captain Award.